Prehabilitation Outcomes in Surgical Oncology Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Control Trials

Prehabilitation has been increasingly utilized to optimize perioperative outcomes. In this study, we aim to evaluate the impact of uni- and multimodal prehabilitation on functional capacity and postoperative outcomes among surgical oncology patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane) were systematically searched up until December 2023. We included randomized controlled trials comparing prehabilitation to standard of care in surgical oncology patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Our primary outcome was functional capacity as measured by the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes include postoperative complications, emergency readmissions, and length of stay (LOS). We stratified our findings to determine the impact of uni- versus multimodal prehabilitation on outcomes.

We included 27 studies with 2532 surgical oncology patients. Overall, patients undergoing prehabilitation demonstrated a significant improvement in preoperative functional capacity compared to those without prehabilitation (mean difference in 6MWD 28.32 meters [m], 95% CI 15.26, 41.39, p < 0.01). Prehabilitation was also associated with significantly lower odds of postoperative complications (odds ratio [OR] 0.60, 95% CI 0.46, 0.78, p < 0.01). There was no difference in emergency readmission (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.59, 1.38, p = 0.61) or LOS (mean difference −0.42 days, 95% CI −1.01, 0.16, p = 0.15). Comparing uni- versus multimodal prehabilitation, multimodal prehabilitation was associated with greater improvements in functional capacity (6MWD 37.35 m versus 13.38 m) and lower odds of postoperative complications (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.45, 0.82, p < 0.01 versus OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.36, 1.11, p = 0.10)

Prehabilitation improves functional capacity and reduces postoperative complications among surgical oncology patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.